What if
by Loke0
Summary: Having developed a crush on a certain jedi, Boba uses some growth acceleration and sneaks out into the night, taking off in a desperate search for his love interest. ObiwanxBoba


**Takes places randomly somewhere in attack of the clones. After the fight between Obiwan and Jango.**

**Pairings: ObiwanxBoba**

**Summary: Having developed a crush on a certain jedi, Boba takes his father's reserve armor and sneaks out into the night, taking off in a desperate search for his love interest. ObiwanxBoba**

* * *

It was done now. His father hadnt liked it, but at least it was done now. Boba had suffered from growing pains the last two nights and he hadnt got much sleep because of it. It had been two horrible nights for him, having never experienced such pain before. At least he'd only used a small amount of growth acceleration. He didnt even want to imagine how much pain it must've caused the clones to grow up fully, in such a short time. Boba had, after all, only grown a little. Only aged a few years, but it was enough. Going from twelve years to around eighteen years old. Though, it had been a bigger change than he'd thought it'd be. Things seemed to have changed alot. His body...his mind....his awareness of things. He felt more mature in every way. He hadnt given his angry father a good excuse for doing it though...and he wouldnt tell him the truth....

Boba sighed, standing in the bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror. He was in the middle of cutting his hair. He didnt want it as short as his father's but...a little shorter than it was now anyway. His mind traveled back to that day....that day a few days ago, when Obiwan had visited them....such a handsome man, Boba had thought. At first, he had only had a light crush on the jedi, but after the man had left and more time started to pass, Boba's happiness was instead replaced by angst and longing...He couldnt stop thinking of Obiwan..it just wasnt possible. That's when he made his decision. To take some of that stuff to make him grow...but not too much. He didnt want to be an old man, like his father. Obiwan wouldnt want to hang around a little kid, he figured...so this was the only way...and it was worth all the pain...as long as he got to see the man again. The last long curl of hair dropped to the floor and Boba studied himself from different angles, making sure that his new haircut looked good enough.

* * *

**The same night**

Boba staggered a little because of the strong winds, feeling how they seemed to become stronger for every minute. Luckily, he's got a nice armor and a helmet to protect his body, but staying out here in the desert for much longer would cause great damage to him, armor or not. His mind traveled back to his father. He knew that Jango wouldnt miss that extra armor of his...but...the ship was a different thing. Though, Boba would only borrow it for a short while...Telling himself that his father wouldnt be angry with him when he returned, because he had left a note after all, he kept on walking through the storm, removing those thoughts from his mind. He doesnt know how long he's been wandering around out there, or even where he had left his father's ship. Everything looked the same wherever he turned. There werent even any rocks or vegetation anywhere that he could use to locate himself. At least he'd found Obiwan's ship, and that was what he came here for after all. The setting sun had soon disappeared behind the horizont and darkness had begun to fall, but he was too close to the ship now to lose sight of it. He realized that he hadnt really thought of anything to do...or say for that matter. Stumbling forward a few more steps, he stopped, exhausted and cold, looking up at the huge construction before him. He had never been this close to the ship before.

---------

Inside the ship, Anakin had spotted a...possible intruder and he quickly alerted Obiwan.

"Master..? Is that the bounty hunter you were talking about..?" as the older jedi joined him by the windows, he pointed outside. "Fits in on the description." Obiwan's eyes got a serious look to them as he leaned in closer, watching the figure that was stumbling around down there in the storm. Anakin was right...it did look suspiciously much like Jango Fett.

"Stay here..", he orders his apprentice, still keeping his eyes on the man outside the ship. Readying himself with his lightsaber, Obiwan makes his ways towards the ramp with determined steps. How did Jango track them here, he wondered. This was not good. Not good at all. The ramp was lowered down slowly, steadily and Obiwan blinked, squinting his eyes as the storm was causing sand to fly up in his face. It's strange how fast the desert can change from being extremely hot, to being freezing as soon as the sun goes down. He lights his saber, carefully stepping down the ramp as it's still in the process of lowering all the way down to the ground. Boba spins around, noticing what is obviously happening behind him and spots that jedi, that wonderful man. His heart skips a beat as he watches the man walking but soon remembers the hostile relationship between them, when the lightsaber is lit. Or rather, the hostile relationship between Obiwan and his father.

Boba doesnt bring his gun out, not yet. He's not here to fight. He hopes he hasnt made a big mistake, but because of his still childlike mind, he naively trusts his own judgment of what is the best thing to do in any situation to come. As Obiwan's feet touches the soft, sandy ground, he proceeds towards what he thinks is Jango Fett, with care, ready to block out any attacks or gunshots coming his way.

"Why did you follow us here?!" he yells over the noise of the storm, hoping that the bounty hunter will hear him. He then stops, thinking that the space between them is a relatively good distance, should anything unexpected happen. Boba stiffens a little, having forgot how wonderful that jedi's voice sounded, and a wave of happiness washes over him before he snaps out of it, concentrating on coming up with something good to say....but speaking would blow his disguise. Obiwan would know that it wasnt Jango he was talking to. Thinking it over twice, Boba realized that maybe it wasnt such a bad idea...he would reveal himself later anyway and maybe if he did it now, the jedi wouldnt be quite as hostile...he hoped...He didnt know what to say, he really didnt...

"Hey!" Obiwan begins to move a little closer, holding his lightsaber in front of him in a firm grip. Boba takes a couple of steps back instead, panicking slightly. With a trembling hand, he retrieves the gun from his belt, holding it out, aiming it at Obiwan. It hurt him to do it. He'd never want to hurt someone he loved. Love might not be the right word for someone you hardly know, but that's the way Boba felt. Before he had the time to even blink, Obiwan had disarmed him, by cutting his gun in half, leaving the young bounty hunter in a state of momentarily shock. The jedi then fell back into a battle stance, watching with confusion as 'Jango' stumbles back a little, obviously not really knowing what to do. Judging by the body language, Obiwan would guess that this was either someone else or Jango was high..? He could sense the insecurity and...was that fear? In this person. It couldnt be Jango..could it? But then who? Out of options, Boba stared at the other man and time seemed to have stopped as Obiwan returned the stare, not moving an inch either.

"Who are you..?" Obiwan demands to know and he squints his eyes again as the storm is getting stronger, causing even more sand to fly up in his unprotected face. He realizes that he cant stay out here much longer without being skinned alive by the raging sand, or possibly freezing to death.

"Get in!" he nods his head towards the ship, not breaking eye contact with Boba, who almost immediately obeys the order, by stepping up onto the edge of the ramp, wanting to get inside and warm himself up again. Obiwan narrows his eyes at the young man's back and glances around outside one last time before following Boba, ready to strike with his lightsaber if there would be any sudden attacks. There were none. Instead, Boba entered the ship peacefully, stopping right after he left the area of the ramp, waiting patiently for Obiwan. Nice and warm. He was already feeling much better.

"Master?" with his own lightsaber raised before him, Anakin appears behind the corner, his eyes focused only on the newly arrived bounty hunter. Obiwan lets his eyes travel to his apprentice, noticing the hostility present in his features. With a discreet nod, Obiwan tells him to follow close behind as he at the same time, places his left hand on Boba's back, giving him a little push in the direction of the couch in the corner of the room.

Boba doesnt move when Obiwan takes a seat, unsure of whether he is allowed to sit or not, and Anakin watches him all the time, not trusting this person one bit, personally thinking that his master made a mistake by bringing the bounty hunter inside their ship.

Obiwan studies Boba for a moment before opening his mouth to speak.

"Who are you..?" the uncomfortable tension in the air still lingers and Boba's hand twitches once. He doesnt know what to say. "Dont tell me that you are Jango Fett..." the jedi's eyes narrow a little. "I know you arent.." Hesitating, Boba bites his lower lip thoughtfully. This man was not easy to fool. He was clever and quick thinking... and ...very handsome. A blush spread over the young bounty hunter's cheeks and he tore his eyes away from Obiwan, glad that he was wearing a helmet. Feeling Anakin's hard eyes on him, Boba turns his head slowly towards the padawan, not really feeling intimidated. He trusted that nothing bad would happen to him, as long as he didnt attack any of the two jedi. Placing both his hands on the sides of his helmet, he carefully begins to remove it. One didnt need to be a jedi to sense the change of tension in the room as the helmet was removed and Boba's eyes were on the older jedi again, nervous, trying to read his features in a way to foresee his reaction.

Then he looked over to Anakin, hardly moving his head as he did this. The younger jedi's reaction was hard to read, but then again, he had never seen Boba before and could therefor not see the resemblance to the man that was now standing there in their ship. Obiwan however reacted to the young man's looks and a very thoughtful expression decorated his features as he stared at the bounty hunter, opening his mouth hesitatingly, but then closed it again. He looked so much like Jango's very young son, but..like an older version. Also, his hair was shorter and he had a pretty handsome face. Manly features. You could see a slight resemblance to Jango.

"..Are you...Boba..?" Obiwan couldnt believe his eyes. It could be a less evolved clone trooper...or....the boy had somehow managed to get his hands on that stuff that made them grow. Blushing a little, Boba gave a small nod, while staring at the floor.

"Master?" Anakin's voice caught both of their attention. "What are we going to do with him?" he looks tense and his eyes are on Boba as he speaks. They are slightly narrowed, as in clearly telling the 'intruder' that he is not welcome here.

"Let me handle this, Anakin", Obiwan says with a calm voice, yet you can hear hints of irritation in it and he lets his eyes travel back to the young bounty hunter.

"How...did you...did you take..." he searches in the back of his mind after that word. "growth acceleration?" Boba nods again, looking into Obiwan's eyes with an honest expression.

"So you will grow up very fast?" Boba shakes his head.

"No", he even smiles a little as he speaks, looking confident. "I only took a small amount of it. I didnt want to go too far.." the room falls silent for a while and Boba fiddles nervously with his helmet. Even though he has grown quite a bit, he still doesnt feel like he's evolved that much psychically. He still feels like a child. Shy, insecure...Anakin still lingers further away by the door to the ship, wanting to speak, wanting to ask what the hell this son of a bounty hunter is doing here, or was he sent here..? but he respectfully obeys his master's orders and stays quiet.

"So, why did you come here? Did Jango send you?" Obiwan shifts his position on the couch slightly, but not taking his eyes off the young man in front of him. Boba seemed unable to answer. His eyes quickly found the floor and he swallowed a lump in his throat. Of course they would want to know why he came. He knew that all along...still...he didnt have an answer ready. He knew why he had come to them...or rather, to Obiwan, but he just couldnt get himself to tell him.

"I just...no...", he started but couldnt come up with a good lie. Obiwan's voice interrupted his thoughts and he blushed, looking up at the man timidly.

"How did you get here anyway?"

".....In my ship", that was a bit of a lie of course, since it was his father's ship. He didnt have any of his own but Obiwan didnt need to know that. Besides, if the jedi thought he had his own ship, Boba would look a lot more grown up in his eyes..he hoped. He looked down at the floor again shortly, as if to gather some courage. "It's far from here...." he felt that he needed to say this, to prevent them from sending him back. Besides...he didnt even know where the ship was anymore. He'd got lost in the stormy desert and to admit to Obiwan that he had lost the ship was just plain embarrassing. The older jedi looked thoughtful and he finally moved his eyes from Boba to look at his apprentice. Their eyes locked and Obiwan came to a decision. They couldnt kick Boba out. Not in this this weather.

"..I...want to come with you....", the young bounty hunter couldnt believe the words that suddenly left his mouth. Had he been thinking out loud? He could only take a guess at how red his face must be now as he looked down at the floor for yet again.

"He's a spy, master", Anakin hissed as he moved a little closer to Obiwan. He still hadnt de-activated his lightsaber. It was still activated, ready to strike at any wrong moves from Boba's side, but the older jedi held his hand up at his apprentice.

"..You want to come with us..? Why?" Obiwan scratches at his beard, deep in thoughts, his eyes searching the young man's face for any clues. "Where do you think we're going?" Boba shrugs and there is silence for a moment.

"Maybe..Naboo...?" He didnt know, of course and he didnt care. He'd go anywhere as long as he got to be with Obiwan. He felt like if his heart could burst of happiness at the thought and he almost smiled, but stopped himself in time, keeping that serious face expression he'd been having for the last minutes. Obiwan allowed himself to throw a glance at Anakin, who didnt seem to be any less confused than him. He then turned back to Boba.

"I see..you're not here to hike a ride. The only option I can think of is that you're either here to leave a message..or...to spy on us...but then you wouldnt have revealed yourself." Anakin watches, frustrated and impatient as his master is discussing the situation with himself.

"Master...I have a bad feeling about this...we shouldnt have let him inside", his voice is getting more and more angry as he speaks and Obiwan gets up from his sitting position, straightening up a little.

"Anakin.."

"We cant take him with us! He's a damn bounty hunter! We should get rid of him, Master!"

"No, please!" Boba looks at Obiwan with pleading eyes. "I want to come with you!" he then moves forward, in a, not so well-considered action, attempting to embrace the jedi, when the older man quickly steps back, his hand on the lightsaber, but he doesnt take it further than that, but Anakin does. The padawan has, in less than two seconds placed his lightsaber between the two men, mere inches from Boba's body and the young bounty hunter stiffens, realizing that he's holding his breath, he exhales slowly, carefully. He then takes a step back, his widened eyes fixed upon Anakin and the hate in them scares him slightly. It definitely intimidates him and he walks back further.

"Anakin!" Obiwan's angry voice makes his apprentice tear his eyes away from Boba to look at him instead, and he pulls his lightsaber back. "Please leave the room...I want to talk to Boba alone." his voice sounds calm and controlled all of a sudden, but his hard eyes on Anakin tells the younger jedi that he's not pleased with his actions. The padawan then bows to his master.

"I am sorry...Master", he then de-activates his lightsaber and puts it away, then walks away with big determined steps, not even looking at Boba as he leaves the room. Obiwan then turns his attention to the now slightly shocked youngster. They look at each other for a moment and Obiwan senses the change in Boba, who is a lot more tense now and his heart is beating faster than it did earlier.

"Please sit down", it wasnt a suggestion or an option, as Obiwan's hand grabbed Boba's shoulder gently, pushing him down to sit on the couch, after which he sits down himself.

"Now...why do you want to come with us?" he looks at Boba, trying to get eye contact but the boy is just staring at the floor again. Obiwan's thoughts goes to Jango and the planet where he visited him and Boba. "Is there a problem at home?....Your father is not hurting you, is he?" Boba still didnt say anything but he did shake his head no, still keeping his eyes on the floor. Obiwan could understand how hard it could be at times, to grow up. That people were expecting things from you, that you could be kind of lost, not knowing what to do or how to. Sometimes there could be problems which you just couldnt talk to your parents about, but the jedi was still confused as to why Boba would come to him if that was the matter. Since Obiwan and Jango didnt get along very well, or rather, they had been having a serious fight after all, Obiwan couldnt come up with any logical reason as to why Boba would want to see him. They hardly knew each other.

"It's late", he pointed out after a while. "Does your father know that you're here?" stupid question Obiwan realized. Of course Jango would never let his son befriend any jedi, especially after that fight. Boba must have either run away from home or he lied to his father about where he was going. This could get Obiwan into trouble for sure.

"I'm not a kid", came Boba's heated reply. That wasnt true of course. His mind was still not that evolved, even though his body was. He was of course a lot more mature psychically than he'd been before he decided to grow himself a little, but still. "I dont need to tell him where I'm going", the young bounty hunter then finally turned his head slowly, shyly looking at the older man. Obiwan smiles at him.

"Of course not...", but it fades quickly, as he's trying to read that intensive look Boba is giving him. "I could drop you off at Naboo....if that's where you wanted to go? I dont want to be accused of kidnapping." That intensive, calm look on Boba's face quickly disappeared.

"No. I want to go with you", he said honestly, staring at Obiwan, innocently awaiting his reply.

"We're on our way to Coruscant", the jedi informed him and then frowned, very curious as to why this kid wanted to come with them. He couldnt possibly want to be a jedi? Now, Obiwan really doubted it. Boba seemed to like the way of the bounty hunter. He was even wearing one of his father's suits. Not that Obiwan knew that it was Jango's, it could as well be Boba's own. "You say that you want to come with us...I would very much like to know why" he shifted his position slightly, waiting, patiently letting the boy take his time to answer.

"I cant...say....", Boba sighed and he avoided the older man's eyes, his body slumping slightly. Obiwan frowned again, looking concerned. He feared that the poor boy might have serious problems that he couldnt talk to this father about. Was that why he had come here? To maybe talk to him? A stranger...? Moving a little closer, Obiwan put his arm around Boba's shoulders, in a comforting manner.

"You can tell me...I wont get mad....and I wont laugh..", he smiled at the youngster as he looked up at him, with an expression that clearly said that he was doubtful of that. Boba hesitated as he looked deep into the jedi's kind eyes, but he couldnt see anything bad in them, nothing that told him that it would be a bad idea to tell him the truth. But he couldnt...he wouldnt...not now....not yet. A little overwhelmed by how understanding and nice Obiwan was to him, he couldnt help but to smile back, feeling so...safe and ....loved....Slowly, carefully, he turned a little so that he was facing Obiwan. He then shamelessly leaned in, wrapping his arms around the man's upper body and rested his head on his shoulder, hugging him like if something would soon come and attempt to pull him away. Obiwan on the other hand stiffened at first, but soon relaxed.

"Boba..?" it was touching that the young bounty hunter had such trust in him, but he couldnt understand why. He guessed that Boba knew that jedi were very good people and that he hadnt got himself into any trouble by coming here. After all, he hadnt done anything to anyone. His father on the other hand...Obiwan allowed himself to embrace the boy, while thinking over all kinds of options on how to proceed from here.

* * *

And that's all for now. I hope you liked it. In that case, I could upload another chapter...depends on if someone reads this story or not


End file.
